Skip to content!

Dropbox and data protection

Report of June 29, 2011

Synchronization services like “DropBox,” “MegaUpload,” and “RapidShare” are frequently used for exchanging data. But by using these services, you give up control over your data and also over the data that you exchange through them, since you don’t know who last saved the data, or where they were saved, or what right the data provider has to these data.

SOEP users should be aware that by using these services, they are providing their consent for services like DropBox to access their computers. This applies to all files in the folder “My DropBox” and all other files that are linked (even inadvertently) with DropBox. This violates the data protection regulations on the use of the SOEP data that you have agreed to by signing your user agreement. We would therefore like to remind you that the SOEP data may only be stored on protected computers.

Please carry out all necessary measures to prevent any access to the SOEP data on your computer.

Please contact your IT department to ensure that the SOEP data on your computer are safe.

keyboard_arrow_up